SHAH ALAM (June 22): Muhibbah Engineering (M) Bhd does not expect the recent collapse in Qatar's diplomatic ties with its neighbours to affect its operation in the country.

To date, the company said some 30% of its order book comes from Qatar and it remains optimistic on the Middle East region. Earlier this month, six nations, including Saudi Arabia, decided to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar, which was accused of providing support to Islamist militants.

“I believe Qatar is still strong enough and I do not foresee any issues, but opportunities, going forward,” Muhibbah's co-founder and managing director Mac Ngan Boon told reporters after the group's shareholders’ meetings here today.

Amid the sluggish oil and gas sector, the company hopes to be sustainable in its financial year ending Dec 31, 2017 (FY17) and to continue so in the future, said Mac.  
 
“Things will not be easy in the next few years. A lot of our work is related to oil and gas, and as you know the whole economy is partly driven by the commodities. We see there’s a need for our company to be cautious. [But] at least for 2019, [we expect to see] more uptick in demand in Malaysia for some of the work that we have been doing,” said Mac.
 
As of June 12, Muhibbah's outstanding order book stood at RM2.3 billion. The lion's share or 70% of it still comes from Malaysia, said Mac. He expects the orders will allow the group to sustain itself till end-2018.

Meanwhile, it has tendered for some RM4 billion worth of new jobs.
 
Shares in Muhibbah closed 0.73% or two sen down at RM2.71 today, giving it a market capitalisation of RM1.3 billion.